Internet protocol based 911 system

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for initiating and handling an emergency IP request using an IP enabled device having GPS capability. The IP enabled device is monitored for one or more emergency criteria. If the emergency criteria are satisfied, global positioning data is obtained using the GPS capability and the emergency IP request is sent to an address server. The address server receives the emergency IP request, obtains local emergency services data based on the global positioning data, dials a call center station based on the local emergency services data and passes an emergency call from the IP enabled device to the call center station. This invention can be implemented as a computer program embedded in a computer readable medium wherein the steps are performed by one or more code segments.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This patent application is a continuation of and claims priority ofpatent application Ser. No. 10/690,346, filed on Oct. 21, 2003, andentitled INTERNET PROTOCOL BASED 911 SYSTEM, which is based on andclaims priority of provisional patent application No. 60/441,632, filedon Jan. 21, 2003, and entitled INTERNET PROTOCOL BASED 911 SYSTEM. Thispatent application is also related to patent application docket numberIPE CONT 2, entitled INTERNET PROTOCOL BASED 911 SYSTEM, filed on evendate herewith.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of communicationsand, more particularly, to an Internet Protocol based 911 system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many systems for providing 911 services to cellular phones.But these systems are not designed to work in Internet Protocol (“IP”)or voice over IP (“VoIP”) systems. These systems do not have no way tomatch a location or address to an IP address because an IP address doesnot have a physical address or telephone number associated with it.Accordingly, there is a need for an IP based 911.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides software applications that communicatewith Global Positioning Systems (“GPS”) hardware embedded in InternetProtocol (“IP”) enabled equipment such that when the equipment is usedto access emergency services by entering 911 or pressing an emergencyactivation button, the software provides the means to determine thelocation of the calling equipment to the respective emergency servicecenter appropriate to the location of the emergency. More specifically,the software monitors the voice over IP (“VoIP”) software installed onthe IP enabled equipment. When 911 is entered, the software acquires thevertical and horizontal coordinates (“V&H”) from the GPS hardware,overrides the installed VoIP software to send a Session InitiationProtocol (“SIP”) request to an address server which is also monitoringthe Internet for these specific sessions. The address server accepts theSIP from the originating hardware, receives the V&H and accesses adatabase that cross references emergency services direct dial numberswith the V&H. The address server passes the voice call and the availabledirect dial numbers to a call center that handles emergency voiceinterface with the person who entered 911 at the originating equipment.The call center operator chooses which emergency service to dial afterspeaking with the person who has the emergency, or defaults to the firerescue number.

The present invention is applicable to both wireline and IP telephonysystems, such as laptop computers, PDAs, etc. The present invention doesnot rely on a set IP address, so that it will work on virtual networksand with transactional IP addresses. GPS coordinates are crossreferenced to the closest physical emergency services. For example, thesystem may provide four numbers or more number to the operator (police,fire, poison control, emergency medical services, rescue, etc.). Theoperator selects the appropriate number and routes the call via PSTN ordirectly to the IP address. Note that this invention does not requiredfixed equipment and is primarily designed for stationary or portablevoice or IP enabled devices rather than mobile phones. The presentinvention completes the IP telephony service.

The present invention provides a method for initiating an emergency IPrequest using an IP enabled device having GPS capability. The methodincludes monitoring the IP enabled device for one or more emergencycriteria, and obtaining global positioning data using the GPS capabilityand sending the emergency IP request whenever the one or more emergencycriteria are satisfied. This method can be implemented as a computerprogram embedded in a computer readable medium wherein the steps areperformed by one or more code segments.

The present invention also provides a method for handling an emergencyIP request from an IP enabled device having GPS capability. The methodincludes receiving the emergency IP request containing globalpositioning data for the IP enabled device, obtaining local emergencyservices data based on the global positioning data, dialing a callcenter station based on the local emergency services data and passing anemergency call from the IP enabled device to the call center station.This method can be implemented as a computer program embedded in acomputer readable medium wherein the steps are performed by one or morecode segments.

In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus having an IPenabled device, a GPS component within the IP enabled device and anemergency IP component within the IP enabled device. The emergency IPcomponent monitors the IP enabled device for one or more emergencycriteria, and obtains global positioning data from the GPS component andsends the emergency IP request whenever the one or more emergencycriteria are satisfied.

Moreover, the present invention provides a system having an addressserver and a database communicably coupled to the address server. Theaddress server receives an emergency IP request containing globalpositioning data for an IP enabled device, obtains local emergencyservices data based on the global positioning data and providesemergency information to one or more emergency services based on thelocal emergency services data.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art upon reference to the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and further advantages of the invention may be betterunderstood by referring to the following description in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an IP based 911 system in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the 911 software process inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the address server process inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated thatthe present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts thatcan be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways tomake and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of theinvention.

The present invention provides software applications that communicatewith Global Positioning Systems (“GPS”) hardware embedded in InternetProtocol (“IP”) enabled equipment such that when the equipment is usedto access emergency services by entering 911 or pressing an emergencyactivation button, the software provides the means to determine thelocation of the calling equipment to the respective emergency servicecenter appropriate to the location of the emergency. More specifically,the software monitors the voice over IP (“VoIP”) software installed onthe IP enabled equipment. When 911 is entered, the software acquires thevertical and horizontal coordinates (“V&H”) from the GPS hardware,overrides the installed VoIP software to send a Session InitiationProtocol (“SIP”) request to an address server which is also monitoringthe Internet for these specific sessions. The address server accepts theSIP from the originating hardware, receives the V&H and accesses adatabase that cross references emergency services direct dial numberswith the V&H. The address server passes the voice call and the availabledirect dial numbers to a call center that handles emergency voiceinterface with the person who entered 911 at the originating equipment.The call center operator chooses which emergency service to dial afterspeaking with the person who has the emergency, or defaults to the firerescue number.

The present invention is applicable to both wireline and IP telephonysystems, such as laptop computers, PDAs, etc. The present invention doesnot rely on a set IP address, so that it will work on virtual networksand with transactional IP addresses. GPS coordinates are crossreferenced to the closest physical emergency services. For example, thesystem may provide four numbers or more number to the operator (police,fire, poison control, emergency medical services, rescue, etc.). Theoperator selects the appropriate number and routes the call via PSTN ordirectly to the IP address. Note that this invention does not requiredfixed equipment and is primarily designed for stationary or portablevoice or IP enabled devices rather than mobile phones. The presentinvention completes the IP telephony service.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an IP based 911 system 100 is depicted inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The system 100includes one or more IP enabled devices 102, 104, 106 and 108, anaddress server 110, a database 112 and one or more call center stations114. The IP enabled devices can be a PCMCIA card 102, PCI card 104, IPPhone 106 or other IP enabled device 108 (e.g., a personal dataassistant, computer, etc.) all of which are equipped with GPS capability(a GPS component or hardware). In addition, the IP enabled devices 102,104, 106 or 108 may be part of or attached to another device, such as acomputer. Each IP enabled device 102, 104, 106 and 108 is also equippedwith an instance of 911 IP software 116, which is also referred to as anemergency IP component. The IP enabled devices 102, 104, 106 and 108 arecommunicably coupled to the address server 110 via the devices' standardconnection to a wide area network, such as the Internet. The addressserver 110 is communicably coupled to the database 112 via a directconnection, local area network, wide area network or other standardconnections. The address server 110 is communicably coupled to the callcenter station 114 via local area network, wide area network or theInternet. The call center station 114 can place a PSTN direct dial callto any emergency service as is required by the circumstances, such aspolice 118, fire 120, poison control 122, emergency medical service 124,or other entity.

The 911 IP software 116 monitors the IP enabled device 102, 104, 106 or108 for one or more emergency criteria, which may include entry of anemergency code, a 911 signal, a panic signal, an emergency activationbutton, a sensor alarm (e.g., collision, heat, smoke, vital signs, etc.)or an emergency condition specific signal (e.g., fire, police,ambulance, etc.). If the one or more emergency criteria are satisfied,the 911 IP software 116 obtains global positioning data (e.g., verticaland horizontal coordinates, a longitude, a latitude and an altitude forthe IP enabled device 102, 104, 106 or 108) from the GPS component andsends an emergency IP request to the address server 110 via the network(not shown). The emergency IP request is SIP request or similar messagecontaining the global positioning data.

Once the address server 110 receives the emergency IP request, theaddress server 110 obtains local emergency services data based on theglobal positioning data, dials the call center station 114 (e.g., anemergency services operator, etc.) based on the local emergency servicesdata and passes an emergency call from the IP enabled device 102, 104,106 or 108 to the call center station 114. The address server 110 mayalso provides a telephone number for one or more local emergency serviceproviders 118, 120, 122, 124 to the call center station 114 based on thelocal emergency services data. The local emergency service providers mayalso include an emergency call center, coast guard, military, federalagency or rescue unit. The address server 110 may also provide theglobal positioning data to the call center station 114.

Now referring to FIG. 2, a flowchart illustrating the 911 software 116(FIG. 1) process 200 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention is shown. The 911 software 116 (FIG. 1) 200 or emergency IPcomponent starts in block 202 and monitors the IP enabled device 102,104, 106 or 108 (FIG. 1) in block 204. Whenever one or more emergencycriteria are satisfied, such as the user enters an emergency code, a 911signal, a panic signal, an emergency activation button, a sensor alarm(e.g., collision, heat, smoke, vital signs, etc.) or an emergencycondition specific signal (e.g., fire, police, ambulance, etc.), asdetermined in decision block 206, the 911 software 116 (FIG. 1) imbedsthe global positioning data from the GPS into an emergency IP request orSIP request in block 208 and sends the SIP request to the address server110 (FIG. 1) in block 210. Thereafter, the process continues to monitorthe IP enabled device 102, 104, 106 or 108 (FIG. 1) in block 204 andrepeats the process as previously described. If, however, the user doesnot dial 911 or activate an emergency button, as determined in decisionblock 206, the 911 software 116 (FIG. 1) continues to monitor the IPenabled device 102, 104, 106 or 108 (FIG. 1) in block 204 and repeatsthe process as previously described. This method can be implemented as acomputer program embedded in a computer readable medium wherein thesteps are performed by one or more code segments.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flowchart illustrating the address server 110(FIG. 1) process 300 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention is shown. The address server 110 (FIG. 1) process 300 startsin block 302 and receives an emergency IP request or SIP request from anIP enabled device 102, 104, 106 or 108 (FIG. 1) in block 304. The localemergency services data, such as one or more direct dial numbers, isthen obtained from the database 112 (FIG. 1) using data contained in theSIP request, such as the global positioning data, in block 306. Theaddress server 110 (FIG. 1) then dials a call center station 114(FIG. 1) based on the local emergency services data, which may be one ofthe local emergency service numbers or emergency services operator, inblock 308. The emergency call is then passed to the call center station114 (FIG. 1) in block 310 and ends in block 312. The address server 110(FIG. 1) may also provides a telephone number for one or more localemergency service providers 118, 120, 122, 124 (FIG. 1) to the callcenter station 114 (FIG. 1) based on the local emergency services data.In addition, the address server 110 (FIG. 1) may provide the globalpositioning data to the call center station 114 (FIG. 1). Note that theaddress server 110 (FIG. 1) may continue to monitor the emergency call.The call center station 114 (FIG. 1) then determines how to handle theemergency call and may route the call to the police 118 (FIG. 1), fire120 (FIG. 1), poison control 122 (FIG. 1), emergency medical service 124(FIG. 1) or other appropriate entity (e.g., coast guard, military,federal agency, rescue unit, etc.). This method can be implemented as acomputer program embedded in a computer readable medium wherein thesteps are performed by one or more code segments.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various modifications can be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

1. A method for initiating an emergency Internet Protocol request usingan Internet Protocol enabled device having Global Positioning Systemscapability, the method comprising the steps of: monitoring software onthe Internet Protocol enabled device for one or more emergency criteria;and obtaining global positioning data using the Global PositioningSystems capability and sending the emergency Internet Protocol requestwhenever the one or more emergency criteria are satisfied.
 2. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein the Internet Protocol enabled device isselected from a group consisting of a PCMCIA card, a PCI card, anInternet Protocol phone, a personal data assistant and a computer. 3.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more emergencycriteria include entry of an emergency code, a 911 signal, a panicsignal, an emergency activation button, a sensor alarm or an emergencycondition specific signal.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, whereinthe global positioning data includes vertical and horizontalcoordinates.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the globalpositioning data includes a longitude, a latitude and an altitude forthe Internet Protocol enabled device.
 6. The method as recited in claim1, wherein the step of sending the emergency Internet Protocol requestcomprises the steps of: imbedding the global positioning data into aSession Initiation Protocol request; and sending the Session InitiationProtocol request.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein theSession Initiation Protocol request is sent to an address server.
 8. Themethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: receivingthe emergency Internet Protocol request at an address server; obtaininglocal emergency services data based on the global positioning data;dialing a call center station based on the local emergency servicesdata; and passing an emergency call from the Internet Protocol enableddevice to the call center station.
 9. The method as recited in claim 8,wherein the call center station is an emergency services operator. 10.The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising the step ofproviding a telephone number for one or more local emergency serviceproviders to the call center station based on the local emergencyservices data.
 11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the one ormore local emergency service providers are selected from the groupconsisting of an emergency call center, police, fire, poison control,emergency medical services, coast guard, military, federal agency andrescue.
 12. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising thestep of providing the global positioning data to the call centerstation.
 13. A method for handling an emergency Internet Protocolrequest from an Internet Protocol enabled device having GlobalPositioning Systems capability, the method comprising the steps of:monitoring software on the Internet Protocol enabled device; receivingthe emergency Internet Protocol request containing global positioningdata for the Internet Protocol enabled device, wherein the receiving isbased on the monitored software; obtaining local emergency services databased on the global positioning data; dialing a call center stationbased on the local emergency services data; and passing an emergencycall from the Internet Protocol enabled device to the call centerstation.
 14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the InternetProtocol enabled device is selected from a group consisting of a PCMCIAcard, a PCI card, an Internet Protocol phone, a personal data assistantand a computer.
 15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein theemergency Internet Protocol request is sent whenever one or moreemergency criteria are satisfied.
 16. The method as recited in claim 15,wherein the one or more emergency criteria include entry of an emergencycode, a 911 signal, a panic signal, an emergency activation button, asensor alarm or an emergency condition specific signal.
 17. The methodas recited in claim 13, wherein the global positioning data includesvertical and horizontal coordinates.
 18. The method as recited in claim13, wherein the global positioning data includes a longitude, a latitudeand an altitude for the Internet Protocol enabled device.
 19. The methodas recited in claim 13, wherein the emergency Internet Protocol requestcomprises a Session Initiation Protocol request.
 20. The method asrecited in claim 13, wherein the call center station is an emergencyservices operator.
 21. The method as recited in claim 13, furthercomprising the step of providing a telephone number for one or morelocal emergency service providers to the call center station based onthe local emergency services data.
 22. The method as recited in claim21, wherein the one or more local emergency service providers areselected from the group consisting of an emergency call center, police,fire, poison control, emergency medical services, coast guard, military,federal agency and rescue.
 23. The method as recited in claim 13,further comprising the step of providing the global positioning data tothe call center station.
 24. A computer program embodied on a computerreadable medium for initiating an emergency Internet Protocol requestusing an Internet Protocol enabled device having Global PositioningSystems capability, the computer program comprising: a code segment formonitoring software on the Internet Protocol enabled device for one ormore emergency criteria; and a code segment for obtaining globalpositioning data using the Global Positioning Systems capability,overriding the software, and sending the emergency Internet Protocolrequest whenever the one or more emergency criteria are satisfied. 25.The computer program as recited in claim 24, wherein the InternetProtocol enabled device is selected from a group consisting of a PCMCIAcard, a PCI card, an Internet Protocol phone, a personal data assistantand a computer.
 26. The computer program as recited in claim 24, whereinthe one or more emergency criteria include entry of an emergency code, a911 signal, a panic signal, an emergency activation button, a sensoralarm or an emergency condition specific signal.
 27. The computerprogram as recited in claim 24, wherein the global positioning dataincludes vertical and horizontal coordinates.
 28. The computer programas recited in claim 24, wherein the global positioning data includes alongitude, a latitude and an altitude for the Internet Protocol enableddevice.
 29. The computer program as recited in claim 24, wherein thecode segment for sending the emergency Internet Protocol requestcomprises: a code segment for imbedding the global positioning data intoa Session Initiation Protocol request; and a code segment for sendingthe Session Initiation Protocol request.
 30. The computer program asrecited in claim 29, wherein the Session Initiation Protocol request issent to an address server.
 31. The computer program as recited in claim24, further comprising: a code segment for receiving the emergencyInternet Protocol request at an address server; a code segment forobtaining local emergency services data based on the global positioningdata; a code segment for dialing a call center station based on thelocal emergency services data; and a code segment for passing anemergency call from the Internet Protocol enabled device to the callcenter station.
 32. The computer program as recited in claim 31, whereinthe call center station is an emergency services operator.
 33. Thecomputer program as recited in claim 31, further comprising a codesegment for providing a telephone number for one or more local emergencyservice providers to the call center station based on the localemergency services data.
 34. The computer program as recited in claim33, wherein the one or more local emergency service providers areselected from the group consisting of an emergency call center, police,fire, poison control, emergency medical services, coast guard, military,federal agency and rescue.
 35. The computer program as recited in claim31, further comprising a code segment for providing the globalpositioning data to the call center station.